ProbableNamed from the place
Michigan roll
noun · first attested 1913
The con is over a century old and nobody wrote down what Michigan had to do with it.
A fake bankroll: a genuine banknote wrapped around blank paper or small bills.
44.3400°N -85.5800°W · Q1166
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- ProbableThe conventional story is likely, with caveats.
- Attested
- 1913
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Michigan
- In English
Michigan roll
Green's Dictionary of Slang traces the phrase to 1913, in a New York newspaper line about an Abe Lincoln on the outside of a Michigan bankroll. The same trick appears elsewhere as a California bankroll or a Cincinnati roll, which suggests the state name was swappable rather than explanatory. Merriam-Webster and Collins both carry the variant Michigan bankroll.
United States
All 153 entries 152 more words from United States
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